


bring it all back (ukai x reader)

by ronnie_ao3



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Comforting Ukai, Daichi's Older Sister, F/M, Flower Shop-Owner, Light Angst, OC Ex-boyfriend - Freeform, Post-Break Up, Reader Owns Flower Shop, Rock-Bottom, low point
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25412512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ronnie_ao3/pseuds/ronnie_ao3
Summary: the grumbling volleyball coach found you when you were at your very lowest; a messy grump who couldn't stay away from her ex-boyfriend.getting over a break-up is never easy, even with the help of your friends. but somewhere along the way, Ukai just might realize how charming you can be one evening, in the light of your flower shop windows.
Relationships: Ukai Keishin/Reader
Comments: 21
Kudos: 91





	1. Chapter 1

You were cozily nestled in bed, dreaming of sunny days and bunches of flowers.

Rolling onto your other side, you opened your eyes slowly, a dull light greeting them. The duvet was warm, and you tossed it off yourself - it was too warm. Rubbing the sleep out of your eyes, you realized with a start that you weren't in your own bedroom, or in your own apartment.

The ceiling was high, and the furnishings were far more posh than yours. Dark cherry-wood floors stretched, and you let out a breathy sigh. You knew exactly where you were.

It certainly wasn't your apartment, but it was the penthouse of a person you knew...very well.

You forced a glance to your right; a man lay there, all too familiarly. He was naked, all too familiarly. His jet-black hair was uncharacteristically mussed up, and his shoulders rose and fell to the time of his slow breathing. 

Fighting the urge to lay back down, you slid out of the king-sized bed and padded across the floor to the closet. You, too, were quite naked, much to your own regret. 

_'Well, look who's done it again.'_ Your inner voice chastised you, and you raked a hand aggressively through your hair. You really had done it again, despite all your efforts. Pulling a white button-up out of the pristine closet (he was always one to be rather organized), you threw it on and fastened the buttons quickly. A shower and you'd be out of here.

Carefully padding out of your ex-boyfriend's bedroom, you closed the door without a sound and faced the hallway. 

It, too had high ceilings, and many doors on each side. You selected the second door on the right, knowing the first was a larger walk-in closet, and the third was a passage-way to the rather exquisite kitchen. Stepping into the bathroom, you locked the door behind you and turned on the shower.

They say quitting cold turkey is the most effective way to break an addiction. 

That might be true, but after twenty-seven days, you caved.

You'd been doing so well, too. You thought this was all behind you. You'd done the breakup, you'd had your closure - though you supposed you _hadn't_ , now had you? If you'd truly had closure, you wouldn't be here, in your ex's fancy bathroom, praying that you finished washing yourself of cum and regret before he woke up and tried to join you in the shower.

You were not ready to have that conversation:

"I made a mistake. Please don't contact me."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you still love me? Isn't that what all of last night was about?"

"...I'm sorry, I have to go."

That would be all you could utter before racing out the door, dressed in last night's outfit. But maybe...it wouldn't be so bad to stay a little while, have breakfast, chat. Start getting to know him again, what harm could that do? Jump in bed again and ride him until he proposed? _Was that really what you wanted?_

You sighed, letting the hot water roll down your body as you scrubbed. 

_'Not on your life.'_ You thought, resolve firming in your veins as you clenched your fists. You'd be strong, and get out of here _with_ your dignity intact.

Turning off the water and toweling yourself off, you secured the white towel around your body and peeked your head out of the bathroom. White towel, white duvet, white countertops in the kitchen - Aito always did appreciate a clean-looking design.

And speak of the devil. The black-haired man appeared in the doorway, rubbing his neck as he surveyed you with those piercing, sea-green eyes of his. It made you shudder, disliking the way he bore into your soul like that. Even when you were dating, you didn't like when he'd stare.

"Well, hi." Aito said with a smirk, and you cleared your throat, seeing he was still without any clothing. He had run his hands through his dark hair, you could tell because it was still messy but not completely disheveled.

His chiseled abs and toned arms and legs almost made you drool, but you held it together. You couldn't cave, wouldn't cave.

"H-Hey." You said, going red with embarrassment, wanting to run.

There was a brief moment of silence, and your gorgeous ex spoke.

"Pity you didn't wait for me, we could've showered together."

You grimaced.

"Aito, this was a mistake."

The man's eyes fell, and his full lips pressed into a frown. Even pouting, you had to admit he was perfect.

Not that he flaunted it, though, Aito was always a humble sort of gentleman. Fancy, but understated at the same time. Wealthy, but not an egomaniac.

You spoke once more.

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to get back together."

The man's eyes flashed with pain, and you pressed your lips together, steadfast in your words.

"You...don't?" He sounded hurt, and you cringed. Never were one to rock the boat, were you?

"N-No." You managed, trying to stay strong.

He was everything you wanted in a man, you loved him dearly, and the most tantalizing part: Aito loved you back, probably even more than you loved him.

You'd found an engagement ring in his coat-pocket one day when you were over at his place, and felt happy at seeing it, but not as much as you should have been. Something didn't feel right about it, about spending the rest of your life with Aito, despite how perfect he was for you.

And so you'd fled, with the intention of never turning back. But here we are, anyway.

Honestly, you'd thought to yourself a few times after dumping him about how completely _stupid_ you were to give him up like that, that he was the best you'd ever be able to do, especially at your age.

You were 27, and owned a pretty small flower shop in Miyagi prefecture, which was a pretty small district. Aito was the big-shot lawyer, with the big-shot apartments and penthouses, living in Tokyo most of the time.

The two of you were currently in his 'country penthouse', which wasn't too far from your area, but just far enough to allow you comfort as you walked around the markets and shops, shopping to your heart's content. It was unlikely you'd run into him, even on a busy day. Thank goodness.

"Won't you at least stay for breakfast?" Aito asked, a pleading look in his eye.

You felt like the worst person on the planet right about now. Coming here, having great sex with the ex, breaking his heart all over again - you really were a piece of shit human being. Guilt flooded your senses, and it took all of your willpower to shake your head at the man.

"I can't."

Aito's face fell, and you felt your heart crack.

Approaching him, you saw his face brighten as he thought you had changed your mind, but you simply walked by him to retrieve your clothing from the bedroom, where it had been kicked aside in the flurry of limbs and lust from the night before. 

Tossing Aito's silk, emerald-colored robe at him, you pulled your own clothing on. He robed himself, that same frown on his face, before walking over to you and placing a hand on your shoulder.

You froze, looking up at him. He gave you a weak smile, pulling you close to him in a hug.

"I'm glad you came, kitten. I...missed you so much. If this is really it, then I just want you to know that I still love you with all of my heart."

You frowned at the pet name that you used to love so much. It just...didn't sit right with you anymore. Nothing did with Aito, everything that used to make you blush just made you cringe away from their sickeningly sweet aroma; like rotting flowers, wilted after facing a frenzy of over-thinking and general discomfort.

"I..." You said, tears springing to your eyes.

"I'm so sorry." You said, standing on your tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. 

And with that, you left.

Situating yourself in the elevator, you punched the '1st level' button and watched the doors close, far too slowly.

You had gotten out of the building and were unlocking your car, parked on the side of the road, when the full force of what just happened hit you.

Slapping a hand over your mouth, you let out a choked sob, keys falling to the ground with a jingle.

"Fuck." You cursed, bending over to pick them up.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" You muttered as you wrenched open your car door, getting in and pulling it violently shut. 

"FUCK!" 

Passers-by stared at you, but you didn't care. You sobbed openly in your car, wiping the tears from your face as you fumbled with your keys once more.

Successfully turning the ignition, your car rumbled to life, and you pulled onto the open road, ready to put as much distance between yourself and Aito as humanly possible.

You were en route to your own apartment when your phone rang.

"Fuck." You cursed, fishing it out of your purse and answering.

"H-Hello?" Your voice was shaky, and you cringed.

"Hey - you alright? You don't sound too good."

Rolling your eyes, your expression softened at the sound of your little brother's voice.

"I can explain later. What's up?"

Daichi cleared his throat, and you just knew he was looking sheepish on the other end of the phone.

"Could I please get a ride to practice? Mom took the car to the market, and Dad's at work."

You groaned. Now was not the time to see your little brother, as much as you loved spending time with him. You had just emotionally been put through the ringer, and were in no condition to actually function like a normal human being.

"Daichi..." 

"Please?" 

Sighing a loud sigh, your will broke.

"Fine, fine. Be there in ten."

Hanging up on Daichi, you changed course, taking a left at the next street and heading for your favorite coffee-shop. If you were going to interact with people today, you'd do it hopped up on an ungodly amount of caffeine.

First objective was to secure coffee. Second objective was to take Daichi to practice. Third objective was to lay in bed and cry until it was time to drag yourself to your flower shop at 11am; it was hardly 8am already.

This would be a piece of cake.

You sloppily pulled into a parking spot right in front of the coffee house, jerking your way out of the seat and shuffling inside. You didn't bother locking your car, having it stolen wouldn't even be the worst thing to happen to you today. Breaking Aito's heart would be at the top of the list all day long, maybe even all week.

 _'If I can even manage to stay away from him for that long'_ , you thought bitterly.

You got in line, not looking up at the menu. You knew what you wanted, you ordered it every time: iced coffee with heaps of sugar. That was it.

Placing your order with the nice barista, you carried on small talk as you waited for your receipt.

The mundane 'how's your morning going?' was hard to respond to, because if you responded honestly, you'd be oversharing. So you settled for a 'just fine, how about yours?' and internally cried instead.

You shuffled off to the side to wait for your drink, away from the line of people. Pulling out your phone, you flipped the camera to face you and almost had a heart attack. THAT was what you looked like?!

You'd cleaned yourself up in the shower, but hadn't used any form of makeup remover. Your waterproof mascara was smudged, but still very much there. Your foundation was patchy, too, so you jammed your hand into your purse to retrieve a makeup wipe.

Dear God, last night's clothing AND last's night's makeup? You were really going through it today. 

You did your best to clean yourself up, and got most of the splotchy paste off your face.

Chucking the wipes into the trash, you ignored the looks you got from other customers. If you were scraping off your makeup in a public place, that was _your_ business; you didn't see what all the judgement was about.

"Iced coffee for Y/N, and a matcha latte for Keishin!" Another barista shouted, and you made a beeline for your drink. 

Securing it in your hands, you made to rush out of the coffee-house without another word, but crashed right into someone else.

Your drink went all over the front of your top, and the other person cursed.

"Aw, fuck." He said, standing right in front of you like an impervious wall.

You weren't sure whether you should laugh or cry, as you felt the entire contents of your cup working its way down your torso, soaking the front of your pants as well as your shirt.

"Gotta watch where you're going, pretty girl." The blonde man chuckled, reaching past you to grab his latte. The man, had been heading for his drink when this bustling woman ran right into him.

Bummer, he thought, especially as he got a glimpse of your face. You'd certainly looked miserable, Ukai thought to himself, and despite having a pretty face, positively exhausted.

Hating mornings himself, he understood your tiredness. Ukai had spent the entirety of the previous night drawing up plays for his volleyball team, for the upcoming Nationals, and certainly wasn't fresh as a daisy. He, however, wasn't prepared to weather the tidal wave of anger that you met him with. 

You gritted your teeth, a fierce glare working its way onto your face at the man's words. Any more snark, and you swore you'd lose it.

"Uh-huh, very helpful tip." You seethed, grabbing napkins and trying to clean yourself up as best you could. Worst fucking day on the planet.

Before Ukai could say another word, you'd tossed the dirty napkins and pushed past him roughly, leaving the coffee shop without looking back. You got in your car, and sped off, nearly hitting a pedestrian in your distracted mindset. It's alright though, she dove out of the way long before you came through.

By the time you reached your parents' house, the liquid mess on your clothes had dried to a sticky residue.

Stepping out of the car, you let yourself into the house and spotted Daichi at the kitchen counter on a stool, munching on some toast and looking at his phone. He looked up at the sound of the front door opening, and raised his eyebrows at the sight of you.

"What happened?"

"Knocked into this asshole at the coffee-house and spilled my drink." 

"Damn, that sucks. You can borrow my team sweater, if you want. And maybe some pants, too."

For the first time that morning, you smiled. 

"Thanks, Daichi." 

Going to change, you stepped into Daichi's room and balked. It was cleaner than your entire apartment, everything shining and looking virtually untouched. Your little brother's cleanliness always shocked you, but you couldn't help but appreciate it as you easily found the grey 'Karasuno' sweater he was talking about in his closet. 

You stole a pair of gym shorts, too, which were far too big for you. Frowning, you selected a pair of small-looking trousers, belting them up so they didn't fall off. Glancing at yourself in the mirror, you decided to put your hair up, too. Much better, a definite improvement from earlier.

Walking back out to the kitchen, carrying your dirty clothes in one arm, you called Daichi to grab his stuff.

"Ready?"

Daichi nodded, standing up from the stool and grabbing his gym bag. You gulped, looking up at him.

"Did you get even taller?" You asked incredulously, scowling slightly. Your little brother laughed, a deep booming laugh. 

"Only by a couple inches. Come on, we'll be late."

***

Parking in front of the school, you stared at your alma mater. Karasuno High, in its glory, stood tall and grey in front of you. You had a pretty good time there, made some pretty good friends, made pretty good grades, too.

Noticing your stare, Daichi asked, "Do you want to come in and look around? A lot's changed since you were here."

Raising a brow, you considered it. You had meant to kick the kid out and rush home to complete Objective #3 on your list (laying in bed all day and crying, for those who need reminding), but it might be nice to take a look at your old high school. Nostalgia, and all that.

"Sure, why not?" 

The pair of you strolled around the campus, as you recounted tales from your high school years. 

"We really were wild ones." You said, with an air of aloofness in your voice. It was true, you and your friends probably spent a little too much time cutting class and partying, but you got A's and B's regardless.

The only thing that had kept you grounded was an after-school, part-time job at the school library. You would read behind the counter, relishing in the silence, looking forward to getting positively smashed with your friends later that night.

"You don't sound like you were very responsible back then." Daichi chided, bumping your shoulder.

"Oh, please, as if you don't have Asahi and Suga over when Mom and Dad are gone and get completely wasted." You shot back, bumping him back. You'd bought alcohol for your little brother countless times; as long as he was safe and drank at home, you didn't worry too much.

He flushed, saying "touché" and nothing else.

The pair of you had reached the gymnasium. Daichi opened the door for you, allowing you to go through first.

A bunch of other boys were in there, milling around and chatting with each other. They immediately quieted upon seeing Daichi, circling up at the center of the gym to begin stretches for the day. See, your little brother was the captain of Karasuno's volleyball team - and it made you so proud!

He put his heart and soul into volleyball, and would go on and on about how the team was doing, what plays they were practicing, what games they had coming up - all of it. You loved hearing about everything, wanting to support him in every way. And while you couldn't always come to his games because of your work at the flower shop, he appreciated as much as you could offer.

Seeing the old gym again brightened your spirits; you and your friends would sneak here during class and fool around, doing random shit. Maybe it was a good thing you'd come with Daichi to practice, this was worth it.

"Who's this, Daichi? A friend of yours?" 

A voice from behind you came closer, and when you turned to face it, you went completely white at the sight.

The blonde man from earlier, the one who ordered the matcha latte, was strolling towards you with a friendly smile on his face. 

Upon seeing who you were, recognition clicked in his eyes, and his smile fell, replaced with a look of confusion.

"What are you doing here, pretty girl?"

You huffed and pointed an accusing finger at the man.

"More like what are _you_ doing here, blondie? And don't call me that." Your voice was laced with venom as the memory of earlier that morning flashed through your eyes, angering you further.

Ukai put his hands up in defense, as you were practically seething with rage. 

Daichi stared at the two of you, thoroughly confused.

"You two have met?"

You spun to look at him. 

"He's the jerk I bumped into at the coffee-shop, literally." 

Daichi's eyes widened, and he turned to face the blonde man, his tone apologetic.

"I'm so sorry about her, she can be a total klutz. She's my sister."

You let out an angry sound, but Ukai laughed, long and loud. He placed his hands on his stomach, doubling over in his mirth.

You huffed.

" _What_ is so funny?" 

The blonde looked up at you, still grinning.

"You two...are nothing alike."

You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms. How rude.

"And just who are you, anyway?"

The man straightened, still giving you that shit-eating smirk.

"I'm the coach, princess. Keishin Ukai."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I recently went through a break-up? No? Well, buckle up, kiddos.


	2. Chapter 2

"Man, I don't give a shit who you are, you're the reason I'm wearing my _little brother's_ clothes right now!"

You practically screamed at the man, whose shit-eating grin dropped and was replaced with confusion and slight fear.

Your flailing gestures at the 'Karasuno' sweater and too-big pants didn't help much, and both Ukai and Daichi sat in stunned silence. 

This was too much, it had only been hours since you'd fucked your ex into the bed; the ex you swore you'd never see again. A wave of nausea passed over you, and you slapped a hand over your mouth. 

Tears sprung to your eyes. You were at your little brother's practice, screaming at his _coach_ for accidentally bumping into you; and not even that, _you_ were the one to bump into _him_ in the first place.

Dear God, this wasn't happening. You had officially lost it, huh?

Trying to take a deep breath, you realized you were hyperventilating.

Pictures of Aito flashed across your mind, and you cursed it for the poor timing. The tears fell, rolling down your face as you fought the urge to vomit. Nausea overwhelmed every part of your body, it seemed, rolling in waves.

This couldn't be happening. 

"I- bye." You choked out, rushing out of the gym and down the hall. 

The gym was silent after your exit; the Karasuno boys had stopped stretching and were staring after you at the open door, Daichi was red with embarrassment and his mouth was agape with shock, and Ukai was still staring at where you had been standing ten seconds ago, eyes wide.

When he finally managed to look away, he let out a nervous laugh, turning to face Daichi.

"Um...is she okay?" 

All Daichi could do was apologize over and over again, until Ukai was quite annoyed.

"I'm gonna go find her, say sorry for knocking into her and all that. Go through stretches and drills with the team while I'm gone." He said to Daichi, who nodded quickly and jogged off to meet his team.

The blond man walked towards the open gym doors, and the team watched him leave, eyes wide at what had just occurred before them.

***

It wasn't hard to find you.

Ukai simply followed the sounds of sobbing and dry-heaving, which led him past the gym and behind another school building. You were on your knees, leaning over a bush, retching.

From what he could tell, nothing was coming out.

You hadn't eaten that morning, no time. You'd been too busy fleeing your pining ex-boyfriend, followed by sobbing yourself to the point of dehydration in your car. Hadn't even gotten your iced coffee, thanks to the little incident in the coffee shop. 

Ukai stood uncomfortably for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do. What would he do if it was one of his volleyball kids?

Crouching next to you, he placed his hand on your back, rubbing it.

You stiffened, looking over. Ukai's eyes widened; you looked even more miserable than before, eyes puffy and red, lips parted and a trail of bile down the side of your mouth. 

"W-What the fuck do you want?" You said shakily, wiping your mouth and looking away. How humiliating, the man was probably here to poke more fun at you. You were officially at the lowest of lows, but prepared as best as you could to be kicked while you were down.

The blond coach cleared his throat, slightly concerned for your mental and physical health. 

"I wanted to apologize for bumping into you earlier."

You scoffed, leaning back and sitting on your butt.

"Wasn't your fault. It was mine."

Not sure how to respond, Ukai allowed the silence to swell. You broke it.

"Shitty morning, you know?" Your voice was thick from crying.

"Ah...I understand."

You shook your head roughly at him, and Ukai raised a brow.

"I don't understand?"

"No offense, but there's no way you could understand just how shitty my morning was."

"Try me."

You turned to look at him, surprised. His smile was warm, and his eyes had a gleam to them. A friendly gleam.

"Well...I paid my ex a visit last night. Woke up in his bed and everything. Sorry if that's too much information."

Ukai shook his head, and you continued.

"It hasn't been long since we broke up, and the thought of him makes me feel like garbage, but crawling back to him last night...it just reminded me that I _am_ garbage."

Ukai blinked.

"You're not garbage because you slept with your ex. All of us make mistakes like that."

"It's just all so fresh, and I'm conflicted, and starving, and without caffeine." You sighed, glancing down at the ground.

"Well...I can help with two of those things." Ukai said, extending a hand to help you up. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do this, you had been a huge nuisance to him. But that look on your face...a face like that shouldn't be so defeated and devoid of all life.

You took it, and he pulled you to your feet.

"I own a convenience store down the road, you can pick anything you want, on me. And coffee, of course."

You were completely flabbergasted by this man, and apparently it showed. Ukai flushed at your incredulous expression.

"I-It's just to pay you back for not getting any coffee on me this morning. You know, when you crashed into me."

A grin crossed your face, and you wiped tear tracks off your cheeks with the sleeve of Daichi's sweater.

"Fair enough," you laughed, "it was remarkable skill on my part, managing to get every drop on myself and not you."

Ukai laughed, and it was a rather pleasing sound to you. Your expression relaxed, and you watched him laugh. Just minutes ago, his laugh pissed the hell out of you, but now...the booming sound was comforting. 

"Practice ends in an hour or so, it's a short one today. Are you alright to wait?"

You checked the time on your watch, and grimaced. It was 9:53am. You had to open your shop right at 11.

"Ah, I have to open soon. Rain check?" You said, not wanting to miss out on the free food. 

"Yeah, sure." Ukai said, watching as you straightened yourself out, adjusting your outfit. 

"Where do you work?" He asked, suddenly curious. If you could show up in a grey sweatshirt and casual trousers, it probably wasn't an office job, or an accounting job, or a federal job. You brightened at his question, excited to talk about your shop.

"Oh, I own my own flower shop!" You said, beaming at him.

Ukai stared at you, shocked at your change in mood. The mere mention of your business seemed to wipe away any trace of sadness that lingered, and the blond realized with a blush that you were radiant when you were genuinely happy. Your entire aura seemed to glow, though Ukai convinced himself he was imagining the light. 

"Wow, that's really cool!" He found himself saying, rubbing the back of his neck. Though he didn't know why, seeing you looking so delighted seemed to reduce Ukai to an awkward mess; not wanting to take a trip to his high school days, which were a blur of discomfort and embarrassment, the man coughed to clear his throat.

"Mind if I stop by your shop on my lunch break?" You asked, a glint in your eye. Free lunch, free coffee, and the company of a rather attractive guy, you deduced as you looked the man up and down for the first time since meeting him.

Ukai was toned, you could see that even through his shirt, and his ear piercings - you couldn't take your eyes off of them, fascinated as you appreciated their existence. 

"Sure, I'll be there." He said, trying to sound as casual as possible. You grinned.

"Sick. Well, I'll see you then, Coach Ukai."

He laughed at the sound of his last name, such formality in your voice.

"You can call me Keishin. See you later, Y/N."

With one last wave, Ukai rounded the corner and headed back towards the gym. You, on the other hand, stood there, confused at what just happened.

How had you gone from hating the guy to accepting free food from him (as well as practically drooling over him)?

Checking your watch, you jumped; ten more minutes had trickled by. At this rate, you really would be late. Orders had to be shipped off, inventory had to be taken, and customers had to be satiated of all their flower needs. 

You rushed off towards the parking lot, cursing yourself for being late.

You couldn't help but smile, though, as you looked forward to seeing Ukai - _no_ , accepting your free food later.

***

Your sales associates were waiting outside the closed flower shop, and you barely reached the shop in time before opening.

They gawked at you, concern flooding their features.

"It's rude to stare, you know." You said cheerily, unlocking the front door and letting them in. Dashing inside, you seized a rather hefty wooden sign, dragging it outside and propping up nicely. 

'Petals Galore' was written in pink, loopy letters on the front, and while it was also featured in large letters above your shop, it was nice to have another reminder for people to look at when they walked by. This little beauty was responsible for most of your business, believe it or not. 

Upon your return inside, you flipped the hanging door sign from 'Closed' to 'Open', smiling to yourself and dashing behind the counter. 

Emma, your most senior associate, looked warily at you, concern still evident in her features. She had emerged from the back room, and was currently tying a forest-green apron around her waist.

"Are you...alright? You're never late like that." 

You laughed heartily, something that further perturbed your staff. 

"Not really, but things are looking up."

Emma nodded.

"All the same, a trip in front of the mirror might help sort you out." She said, trying to be as kind as possible.

"What do you mean?"

"Well...to be honest, you look rather deranged."

Gasping in mock-hurt at her words, you humored her and strolled to the bathroom, sending your other associate, Fiona, to watch the front of the store and greet customers. She was newer than Emma, but did fairly well in sales. 

Kicking open the bathroom door, you stepped inside and flipped on the light switch. A gasp escaped your mouth, and you saw exactly what Emma had been talking about. Your hair was a mess, your face was pasty (probably from all the hurling), and the bags under your eyes were ridiculously puffy. 

_'Not my best look'_ , you thought to yourself. Splashing water on your face, you ran your fingers through your hair until you looked presentable. You even retrieved some mascara from your purse, as well as some powder. 

You emerged from the back room, apron tied and feeling much better.

"Do I look okay?" You asked Emma, who turned to look at you.

She nodded in approval.

"Night and day. Though the 'Karasuno' volleyball sweater is kinda out of place."

You laughed, grabbing a clipboard from under the counter and uncapping a pen, looking over the sales goals you'd outlined for the day. You might not have put much effort in school, fooling around more than you should have, but when it came to your business, you were more than determined to seize success by the balls.

"That's alright. We'll just say I'm showing team spirit for my little brother."

You gave Emma the run-down of today's goals; since Valentine's day was fast approaching, you guys were selling product like crazy. It was always good to try to aim even higher than expected, though, so upselling was key. In the spirit of the holiday, you had ordered a few boxes of pink and red teddy bears to put out on the floor, at the most eye-catching display you had. 

Smirking to yourself, you chuckled lowly, looking over your pristine, inviting store. Beautiful flowers, shiny ribbons, classy wax paper, you had it all. And teddy bears on top of it.

 _'The lovey-dovey chumps won't know what hit 'em'_ , you swore to yourself. Emma gave you another wary look, but her face broke into a smile when you nudged her.

"It's gonna be a good day." You said cheerfully, and Emma nodded in agreement. True, your mood had done a full one-eighty since stepping into the store, and this was partly due to the extreme pride you felt when at work; but you couldn't deny that the prospects of seeing Ukai later brightened your mood, too.

Your stomach rumbled, giving you yet another reason to look forward to your lunch break, when you'd mosey on over to his convenience store.

As customers filtered in and out, you shone as Emma and Fiona bagged a sale nearly every time. You didn't do so bad yourself, but you were rather distracted. Your train of thought was focused on a certain bleach-blond volleyball coach, and the way he seemed to smell like smoke, and the way his piercings glinted in the sunlight.

Fiona found you behind the counter one time, twirling your hair around your finger and a blush on your face. She grimaced, going to get Emma, who rolled her eyes at hearing you being all dazed, stomping up to you.

"What's with the moon-eyes?" She snapped, and you jolted out of your stupor, reddening further. You cleared your throat, shaking thoughts of Ukai's piercings and rough-looking hands out of your mind.

"N-Nothing!" 

"Like hell. Did Aito grow another dick or something? Even _you_ couldn't resist him then." Emma said, raising an eyebrow. Ah, yes, your coworkers (well, more like subordinates) knew all about your shebang with Aito; the breakup, the difficulty letting go, the lack of closure, all of it. 

And from the look on Emma's face, she suspected you'd succumbed to the charm of your hot ex-boyfriend. Oh, ye of little faith.

"Shut up, I'm thinking about someone else." You snapped back, crossing your arms. You _had_ caved in to your hot-as-hell ex, but you weren't currently thinking about Aito. She didn't need to know you'd cracked, gone back and boned the hell out of the man you swore you'd never see again. 

"Uh huh, okay." The younger woman said, words dripping with 'I don't believe you in the slightest'. You glared at her.

"I'm being honest! His name's Keishin, he's Daichi's volleyball coach." You said, putting your arms up.

"...Be serious." You pouted in response to her words and disbelieving expression, getting exasperated.

"I am serious!" 

"I won't believe it until I see it."

Throwing your arms up, you sighed loudly, getting the attention of a few customers, who'd been lingering by the counter. They were checking out your ample selection of ribbons, but scuttled away at the sound of your distaste. 

You didn't need to put up with this crap, you thought to yourself, flouncing out from behind the counter to fix a display far from Emma. Your own employees, too; this was boss abuse. 

You practically sang with relief by the time your lunch break rolled around, sometime around 3:00. Your assistant manager Becca had arrived in the nick of time, and you left everything in her hands gratefully, tossing your apron aside and practically sprinting out the door with your purse in hand.

By now, your stomach was imploding in protest, you were so hungry. 

Remembering the directions Daichi had texted you earlier (in all the excitement earlier with Ukai, you'd not gotten his phone number, nor the address of his store; thank goodness Daichi pulled through), you darted down streets and side alleys, soon panting.

How far was this guy's store? 

You finally rounded a corner and sighed in relief at seeing Ukai through a window; this must be his store, you thought as you crossed the street and went to open the door. You paused upon seeing Ukai more clearly; he was bored-looking, but more importantly wearing an apron. How cute!

 _'But I bet he'd look even better with just the apron on.'_ You thought to yourself, before choking on your saliva when the man's eyes went directly from his magazine to you. You'd been spotted. There was no turning back now.

Flushing, you wrenched open the door and let yourself in, and Ukai nodded at you.

"So you came." 

"Don't sound too excited about it." You said, raising an eyebrow and narrowing your eyes at him. To your surprise, Ukai laughed that strong laugh again, putting his magazine aside and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

"Believe me, I was excited to see you. What I'm not so excited about is having to give away free stuff." 

The blond man raised the cigarette to his lips, holding it between his teeth as he fished out a lighter from his jeans pocket. You couldn't help but stare as he lit it, thinking to yourself _'Dear God, he's a smoker.'_

You supposed it explained the smokey smell from earlier, you'd convinced yourself that you'd imagined it.

Ukai caught your gaze, snapping the lighter shut and stowing it back in the pocket from which it came.

"Problem with smoking?" He asked, taking a drag.

You shook your head numbly. Truth be told, you didn't mind at all. The magnitude of your observation only came from the fact that you found smoking to be - well, for lack of a better word - hot.

"N-Not at all. It's actually..." You were about to tell him exactly how titillating the action made you feel, how it made the pit of your stomach clench and your breath quicken, but realized that would be the most moronic thing you'd do all day, and you quickly shut your mouth.

Ukai chuckled at your flustered expression, pushing past the awkward moment and onto the reason you'd come.

"Nasty habit, I've been trying to quit for years. But go ahead and pick whatever you want, it's on me."

Grinning, you gave him a thumbs-up, before remembering the coffee promise.

"And you have coffee too?" The longing in your voice was apparent, and Ukai laughed.

"You bet. I'll get you a cup while you look around."

Thanking him, you took a turn around the store, before selecting a pre-packaged sandwich. Nice and simple, and you weren't about to be so greedy with your lunch that you robbed a man of his store and livelihood. The sandwich would be enough, and you returned to the counter to find that Ukai wasn't there.

Looking around in a bewildered way, you heard an "Over here, princess." from by the front of the store. Ukai was there, at a little table you hadn't noticed before, overlooking the outside through the windowed store-front. Two steaming cups of coffee sat upon it.

Smiling a wide smile, you went over to sit across from him, sandwich in tow. 

Today wasn't shaping up to be so horrible, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to like the plot that's going on :D Also I appreciate your guys' comments so much, they honestly keep me going when I'm not feeling motivated to write. Stay tuned for more updates, likely later this week.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how long ago did you and the ex split up?" 

You nearly choked at Ukai's question, as you had been in the middling of swallowing your bite of sandwich. Coughing instead, you swallowed hard before responding. 

"Little under a month." You managed, taking a sip of coffee and averting your eyes. Ukai's gaze was piercing, and if you looked at him any longer you swore you'd melt into a puddle of unresponsive goo. Dangerous territory, but you always liked living on the edge.

"Ah, always the hardest part, the first month." 

Ukai kicked back in his chair, arms behind his head as he took another drag of his still-smoking cigarette. 

"This has been the hardest month of my life." You said honestly, taking another bite of sandwich. 

"Oh?"

You chewed a bit before responding, swallowing your food.

"Yeah. See, you mentioned how smoking is a nasty habit. An addiction, is what it really is. And the thing is, breaking up with Aito was like trying to quit heroine cold turkey."

Ukai raised his eyebrows.

"That bad? What, was he one of those toxic assholes you couldn't get away from?"

You laughed suddenly, surprising both of you.

"Hardly. He was...kind of perfect, actually. Easily the best I've ever dated."

"You're gonna have to clue me in a little here, princess. You sound like a lunatic, talking about how you dumped a perfect guy." Ukai's voice was even, and his eyes were locked on your face as you glared at him.

You were a little annoyed at being called a lunatic, but even more annoyed at the truth in Ukai's words. You _were_ a lunatic for leaving Aito.

"Y'know what, forget it." You snapped, leaning back in your chair and sipping your coffee. The empty sandwich wrapper lay on the table as you glared Ukai down. The man looked irritated at your sudden mood change, but allowed the silence to flow between the pair of you, not letting you off the hook.

After a minute, you sighed at his unwavering gaze.

"I'm sorry, it's just you're pretty spot on, calling me a lunatic." You took a deep breath, chuckling to yourself. "He was pretty fucking perfect. Big-time lawyer with perfect hair and the prettiest eyes I've ever seen. Smart as hell, too, top of his class in law school."

Ukai listened intently, but couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as you described the man you'd left.

"Nicest guy, too, and humble. Always supported me no matter what." You bit your lip, tears springing to your eyes. Ukai noticed, and chimed in, trying to lighten the mood.

"Let me guess, he was _terrible_ in bed."

The man's words got the response he'd been going for; you laughed, wiping your eyes. 

"Quite the opposite. Best sex I've ever had." 

That dampened Ukai's mood further, and the jealous feeling grew. Growing impatient, he bit his own lip, trying to hold back a smart comment. 

You continued.

"I _am_ sort of a lunatic for leaving. It's just...one day, I found an engagement ring in his coat pocket, as cliche as that sounds."

Ukai's eyes widened, and you laughed bitterly.

"I _know_ right, who'd want to marry a mess like this?" 

Ukai spluttered in protest, but you bulldozed over his defiance.

"I'm joking, well, half-joking. Anyway, seeing that ring scared me like nothing ever has." You chewed your lip. "Maybe I was scared to commit, or maybe I just couldn't see myself with Aito doing something like that, but...I ran." You finished lamely, staring at the table.

The blond man gaped at you. 

"You had second thoughts though, right?" 

"Of course I did. Every day, every time I thought of him, which was ridiculously often, I thought about running back. One day, I ran into him on the street, out of the blue. It had been a couple of weeks since we'd split up, but we got talking, and he called me some pet name I used to love..."

Ukai leaned in closer, realizing he was on the edge of his seat and quickly sitting back, trying to look uninterested. This was dramatic stuff, the type of crap you only heard about from movies and soap operas. 

As for that jealous feeling currently nestling in Ukai's stomach, it hadn't gone away in the slightest, nor had gotten any smaller. It confused the man, considering he had just met you that morning. Was it possible to feel this way for someone you barely knew?

"...it just felt so sickening to me, hearing him call me something endearing that used to mean so much to me, and that's when I knew that he and I would never work. That it was beyond repair."

"It wasn't 'princess', right? Or 'pretty girl'? Because if it was, I'd have to retire those with you, and that'd be a pain."

You snorted, appreciating his attempt at lightening the mood. For some strange reason, you didn't feel nearly as upset as you should be while discussing your fresh break-up. Ukai's airy demeanor lifted you up, it seemed.

"No, he always called me 'kitten'. That one was my favorite, at least."

Ukai smirked, and you picked up on it, scowling.

"What's so funny about that?"

"The way you act, it seems like 'rabid badger' is more accurate a pet name. I'm still shocked that you're in any way related to Daichi, by the way."

You deadpanned, resisting the urge to beat the hell out of Ukai.

"Watch your mouth." You said lowly, and the blond shivered at the cold aura you put forth, nearly dropping his cigarette out of his mouth. Maybe you _were_ related to the tough captain, after all. 

"We're way more alike than you think." You said, expression lightening as you smiled.

As it had this morning, your smile caused the young man to blink, stunned by the radiance it gave off even in his own little shop. And to think, Ukai never would have realized your smile was a significant upgrade from your pissed-off glower if you _hadn't_ happened to take your little brother to practice.

Your phone rang from deep within your purse, and you jumped, fishing it out quickly and answering. So much to ruin the moment.

"Hello?"

Ukai put out his cigarette in the ash tray he'd brought over to the table, taking a swig of coffee. 

"Yeah, I can come back early, Becca. See you soon."

You ended the call, looking up at Ukai apologetically. 

"I've got to head back, I guess my delivery guy finally showed up."

The blond nodded, standing and setting down his cup of coffee.

"At least grab a snack or something for the road. On me." Ukai said, gesturing to his store. At that moment, a bang was heard from the back of the store, as though a door had been shoved open forcefully.

"KEISHIN!"

Ukai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"WHAT, MOM?"

You covered your mouth, though not without a snicker escaping. 

A woman emerged, stout and looking downright angry. She grabbed Ukai by the ear, pulling his head down to her level, hissing at him, "You left the back door unlocked again. Do you WANT us to get robbed?!"

You held back a laugh, almost unsuccessfully. A snort came out, instead, and the woman, or Ukai's mother, looked over at you, noticing you for the first time. She let her son go, looking you up and down. 

"Keishin, you didn't tell me you were expecting such a lovely young woman! Tell me, dear, what's your name?"

"Mom, this is -" 

"LET THE GIRL SPEAK FOR HERSELF!" 

Ukai cowered, taking a step back from his mom. You laughed, but composed yourself quickly, introducing yourself politely to his mother. She smiled, and came closer. You expected a hand-shake, but she engulfed you in a tight hug, nearly crushing your windpipe.

"Thank God you're here, he's absolutely hopeless. I-"

"MOM!" Ukai cut in angrily, before taking a deep breath. "Please, Y/N was about to leave. She's on her lunch break."

Ukai's mother gasped, looking from Ukai to yourself.

"And you're NOT going to walk her back to her place of business? It's dangerous on the streets!"

Glowering, Ukai untied his apron, throwing it on the table and jamming his hands in his pockets; he stalked over to the door, pushing it open with his back and giving you an expectant look. You thanked his mother, who beamed at you, before hurrying after the retreating man.

"Where are we going?" He asked gruffly, and you blinked. Right, he hadn't been to your shop before.

"Ah, follow me." You said, and Ukai grunted.

The pair of you slowly made your way back towards your side of town; it had only taken you a few minutes to get to his shop, and you weren't worried about making the delivery man wait. He could be kind of an ass, anyway.

"So...your mom's nice." You said, looking at Ukai's face. He snorted in derision, hands still jammed in his pockets.

"Yeah, not how I'd put it. She sure seemed to like you, though." Ukai said, almost omitting that last bit of information. His mom was hard to please, but she had certainly taken a shine to you.

"I'm glad." You said, and meant it. You didn't know why, but you felt like it was an honor of some kind. 

You twisted down the same side alleys you'd come by, and Ukai followed. At one point, you had to grab his hand to guide him down a particularly narrow stretch, and he flushed bright red, right down to his bleached roots.

It wasn't long before you came to your store-front, and you gestured animatedly at it.

"Ta-da! This is my shop!" You said excitedly, nearly bouncing at the prospect of showing off your baby. Ukai nodded appreciatively, lighting another cigarette.

"Wow, looks pretty nice. I might have to consider buying some flowers from you."

"Oh, what, for your mom?" You said, poking fun at him. Ukai shoved you, albeit gently.

"Shut up, how do you know I don't have a girlfriend?"

"The way your mom was squeezing me to death back there is kind of a big indicator." You said, and Ukai blushed in embarrassment. It was true, he was single, but he didn't realize it was that obvious. And for some strange reason, Ukai felt the urge to impress you beyond belief.

You were about to speak once more, to invite Ukai in to look around (and also prove to Emma that he did, indeed, exist), when a rather troubling spectacle caught your eye. Was that who you thought it was, lingering outside your store? You pressed your lips together, and seemed to shrink into yourself.

Ukai noticed the change in your demeanor, following your gaze to a man he didn't know; the man looked spiffy, though, his dark trench coat fitting nicely over his black business suit. From the gelled black hair to the shiny shoes, this man screamed 'put-together'.

The man's bright eyes looked over your window display with interest, though he couldn't help but appear to be waiting for someone. You.

"Is that..." Ukai started to ask, but you nodded before he could finish, eyes wide and lip trembling. 

Ukai wanted to pat you on the back, or something, try to ease you out of this spiral of emotions he knew you were feeling, but he could only size up his competition from across the road. The man certainly looked perfect, from what you described.

A sinking feeling sank into Ukai's stomach, as he looked from Aito's appearance to his own, shabbier one. His orange hoodie and blue jeans came off ridiculously casual in comparison to your ex-boyfriend's, who looked like a damn model.

Gulping, you set your jaw.

"Aito." 

Ukai gave you a quick side-glance, and could immediately tell what was going on in your head; it showed perfectly on your face, clear as day. You were currently trying to decide between confronting Aito, and running from Aito. Classic fight-or-flight scenario, and Ukai didn't need a magnifying glass to see the anxiety written across your face, darkening your eye-bags and deepening your wrinkles.

Sheesh, this guy really bothered you, huh? Ukai looked back to Mr. Perfect, who looked over at the pair of you by chance. Face lighting up with seeing your familiar face, Aito crossed the street in a beeline towards you. 

Gulping once more, you took a step back, scowling at the man as he approached. 

"What are you doing here?" You asked Aito, and Ukai wondered whether he should leave or not. This all seemed rather private, he thought, taking a step backwards, away from the conversation.

Catching your eye, however, he blanched at your pleading look. You clearly wanted him to stay. 

Sighing, Ukai nodded, taking a few steps away but not going too far; just far enough to be barely out of earshot, but close enough to step in if things got hairy. You visibly relaxed, and turned to face Aito, who looked pleased to see you.

"I wanted to see you again before I left for Tokyo."

You huffed, blowing a piece of hair away from your eyes. The pesky strand of hair came to rest in front of your eyes once more, and Aito made to tuck it behind your ear, but you smacked his hand away, swiping it out of your eyes yourself.

"You can't just show up here, Aito." You said, a harsh edge to your voice. The man furrowed his brow, confused.

"Why not?" His question was genuine, and you balked.

"We have been broken up for a month. One month. Do you know how hard it was to stay away for that long? You coming here, you showing up out of the blue, it makes everything that much harder!" You said sharply, and Aito cocked his head.

"If it's that hard for you to stay away, why are you?"

Sighing, Aito gently took your hands into his. Ukai stiffened from his position against the wall, but did nothing, continuing to lean against it instead.

"I love you so much, kitten, I want to be with you. If you want the same thing, if it's that hard to stay away from me, then don't. Come back, please?" 

"Aito..."

Ukai blinked, certain you were going to cave. 

"...I don't want this. I thought I did, but we're not right for each other. I'm not ready...and you are."

Aito's face fell.

"Is this about the engagement ring? Because I can wait until you're ready."

"I've already made up my mind." You said, gently prying your hands from his. 

Aito opened his mouth to speak, but you beat him to it. 

"Good luck in Tokyo, Aito. I have to go."

And with that, you took a few steps towards Ukai, grabbing his arm and dragging him across the street and into your shop. The bleach-blond looked back at Aito, catching a glimpse of his face; crushed, was the one word that came to Ukai's mind. Your ex looked...crushed.

The second the door clanged shut, the welcome bell ringing its high-pitched tones, Ukai whistled.

"Phew, that was rough. He looked really hurt." He said without thinking, rubbing the back of his neck and laughing.

You spun around to face him, tears in your eyes. 

"I know, you don't have to tell me that. Thanks for walking me back, and for staying behind, but I've gotta go." 

And with that, you strode into the back room and out of sight, the door swinging in your absence. 

Ukai stared after you, confused and irritated at your sudden departure. Sighing heavily, he raked a hand through his hair, glancing around your shop haphazardly. His jaw dropped; it was beautiful. All of the different colors and types of flowers, from simple arrangements to far more complex, sculptural ones, the store was full to the brim with the bright, vibrant streaks.

"Sorry about her." A voice to Ukai's left made him jump. It was a girl, maybe a few years younger than you.

"Are you Keishin?" She asked, and Ukai blinked.

"U-Uh, yeah. Did she mention me?"

"She sure did."

A slight blush crossed the older man's cheeks, but the girl continued.

"I'm Emma, her coworker. Do you want her phone number? Cause she might act all tough, but she's really just hurting inside."

Ukai was still for a minute, but eventually nodded.

Emma passed him a paper, with a phone number scribbled on it. 

"Honestly, I didn't believe you were real. Thought she made it up. Her favorite flavor ice cream is rocky road, by the way." Emma said, walking back to the counter to ring up a customer and leaving Ukai to stand alone, clutching the piece of paper.

What just happened? 

Glancing at the paper, the blond turned on his heel and left the store.

The entire way back to his convenience store, he had an iron grip on the paper, worried it might fly away in the wind if he didn't hold it tight enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reader's a mess, and Ukai's just doing his best to help. But honestly, gotta love his mom's energy :) Super nagging but it works in your favor, lmao! 
> 
> Any thoughts or concerns or comments, toss 'em down below! And thanks for reading :D


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean, you need another adult to go to the training camp?"

Your voice was flat, and wary, as you spoke with Daichi on the phone. Your brother had called you right when you were about to take the world's longest bath, after eating the world's largest amount of rocky road. 

You were just getting the motivation to move from your bed to the bathroom; the fluffy blankets you were snoodled in were proving difficult to pry yourself out of. Most people would be out on a Saturday night, clubbing or having a nice dinner and drinks downtown. They'd have small talk, or a quick break-down of last night's game, comparing teams and statistics, determining who would be moving onto the finals. 

Three years ago, that was you; the ripe age of 24, still young and hip and ready to take on the world. Clubbing on the weekends, working hard at your flower shop with the rest of your time, dating here and there.

Meeting Aito had turned your world upside down, sucking you away from your social life and into his warm embrace. Your nights of clubbing had transformed into nights of fooling around in front of a fireplace in the mountains, or tucked away in his parents' beach-house, drinking more wine than you cared to remember. 

Daichi cleared his throat, tearing you out of your reminiscent thoughts. You had quite a lot of those, these days.

"Our club advisor got pneumonia. We need another adult to chaperone the trip."

You let out a loud sigh, raking a hand through your hair.

"Daichi, I don't know...I can't just leave the shop."

"Oh come on, you know Becca's been wanting the extra hours."

You frowned, suddenly regretting telling Daichi all about your work life, and all the drama in your circle. Your little brother probably remembered every detail you'd let slip about your employees, and as shown above, he was fully prepared to use that information against you. 

"Besides, the break will be good for you. It'll help get your mind off of -" 

"Don't say his name." You cut Daichi off with a hiss, grabbing the phone with both hands.

"I won't have to if you agree to chaperone." Your brother said testily, and you knew he was grinning evilly on the other end of the line. Little brothers were the worst.

"Daichi, no. I'm not going to let you blackmail me into supervising your training camp."

And with that, you hung up, scoffing as you went to run a hot bath.

Besides, you had plenty of sulking around to do, here at your apartment. Even if you _had_ diminished your supply of rocky road, you could just buy more and sulk a bit more while you ate it, watching The Notebook and cussing out Ryan Gosling from the couch.

You turned off the bath-faucet, dipping a foot into the water to test it; scalding, just how you liked it. The steam was lavender-scented, thanks to those bath salts Emma had given you for Christmas. 

Stripping all of your clothes off, you sunk into the fragranced water and sighed. You needed this. 

The warmth was liquid comfort, and you closed your eyes, preparing to doze. This wouldn't be the first time for you to fall asleep in the bath, and it sure as hell wouldn't be the last. 

You could've sworn you heard a tapping sound, far away. Miles away, maybe. Down the road, in some back alley, perhaps. 

_Tap, tap, tap._

A few seconds of silence.

_Bzz, bzz._

You opened your eyes, glancing to your right, where your phone was buzzing on top of your robe. Raising an arm out of the water, you saw it was an unfamiliar number and declined the call. Crank calling-ass motherfuckers.

Making to sink back into the water, you were interrupted by the phone ringing once more. 

Same number, but this time you answered, irked at being interrupted while you were in the bath. 

"Who the fuck is this?" You barked into the receiver.

"Well, I definitely have the right number." The voice seemed oddly familiar, deep and sensual in its own right. 

"Again, who the fuck is this?" 

"It's Keishin, princess. Am I interrupting anything?" Ukai's voice was full of mock-concern, and you flushed at the way he called you 'princess'.

"I'm actually in the bath. Why are you calling? Is everything okay? How did you get my number? It was Emma, wasn't it?" You peppered off questions like bullets, and Keishin chuckled on the other end of the line, causing your cheeks to heat up further.

"Everything's fine, but Daichi texted saying you needed help packing for the training camp trip. I'm actually outside in the hall, he gave me the address."

You let out a shocked gasp, looking to the bathroom door. Ukai was outside your front door, right now? 

"That little bastard. I never agreed to go to the training camp."

All you got was a confused laugh from Ukai, and you let out a heavy sigh, making to get out of the water.

"Give me a sec, I-!"

The phone slipped out of your wet hand and into the tub; you screamed, diving for it, but you were too late. The phone was submerged in the water, and you a slew of curses escaped your mouth loudly as you brought it out, dripping and broken-looking.

A minute later, you were robed and slipper-clad, sitting on one end of the couch with your arms folded tightly. Ukai was on the other end of the couch, watching you warily. Your poor phone was in a Ziploc full of dry rice on the counter.

"So...you're _not_ coming to the training camp." Ukai said, and you turned to face him.

He looked gorgeous as usual, and it didn't seem like he was even trying. A blue t-shirt and black jeans, and that same little headband holding back his bleached locks. You wondered how his hair looked when it wasn't held back, and blushed. Probably looked too hot for his own good, and that's why he had to keep it back. If he didn't, panties would drop left and right, you were certain of it.

"I mean, I don't know. Daichi just asked me an hour ago, and I have the shop to take care of, and I was kind of looking forward to sulking in my apartment all weekend." You said truthfully, almost keeping that last part to yourself.

Ukai scoffed.

"That's pathetic. All the more reason for you to come. Besides..." 

You heard a crinkle by his feet, and looked to see that he brought a plastic bag with something bulky in it. Interest piqued, you uncrossed your arms and scooted closer to see what it was.

"...I brought ice cream."

Slapping a hand over your mouth, you let out a muffled squeal upon seeing it was rocky road.

"How'd you know I just ran out?!" You said excitedly, jumping up to rush to your kitchen for spoons.

"Just lucky, I guess." A soft smile crossed Ukai's face upon seeing you so elated, it was something he hadn't really seen from you before, besides when you talked about your shop. He thought back to your coworker's words, the one who'd given him your number in the first place.

_'She might act all tough, but she's really just hurting inside.'_

It certainly seemed like it. You were like a loose cannon, losing your temper so easily. Part of Ukai wondered what you were _really_ like, when you weren't consumed with guilt over your break-up.

Smiling to himself, he already had his answer. You were probably amazing, he thought to himself.

"Nice robe, by the way." He said, poking fun at your rabbit-print, baby pink robe. You stuck your tongue out at him as you returned with two spoons, dropping one in his lap unceremoniously.

"This is my favorite robe, I'll have you know."

"Oh, you have more than one?" Ukai asked, laughing.

You smirked, grabbing the ice cream from him and forcing the container's top off.

"I do."

"Are they also bunny-themed?" Ukai leaned forward to stick his spoon into the ice cream, but the proximity nearly made you shiver.

"N-No," You said, suddenly nervous, but grinned as you continued, "one's black silk, and the other's red silk."

Ukai nearly dropped his spoon, a blush crossing his cheeks at your bold answer. He leaned back against the couch, eating the ice cream off his spoon as he digested the fact that you owned two silk robes. It was oddly attractive, the thought of you in a little black robe, shiny and silky against your smooth skin, showing just enough cleav-

The man coughed, clearing his throat and his mind.

"And you went with pink bunnies when you had black silk? Ridiculous." Ukai joked, and you laughed; it was a nice sound, high and clear and pleasing to the ear, in a way. The bleach-blond couldn't help but smile at your face, flushed from laughter.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were coming over." You joked back, but flushed at the implications of your statement. Ukai raised a brow, but brought out his pack of cigarettes and shook one out.

"Do you mind if I smoke?"

'Please do, it's pretty hot', you thought to yourself, not minding in the slightest if he smoked. When you saw a pink tint on Ukai's cheeks, however, you balked.

"Did I say that out loud?" You asked.

"You did. I didn't realize smoking was a turn-on for you." Ukai's eyes had a playful glint to them, and you blushed down to the roots of your hair.

"It's not a turn-on." You said defensively, crossing your arms once more and looking away.

"Yeah, okay." Ukai's tone was disbelieving, and he chuckled a little as he flicked on a lighter.

"Smoking's bad for you, you know." You said, sticking your tongue out. Ukai rolled his eyes, taking a drag and blowing smoke in your face. You coughed, waving your hand in front of your face to disperse the smoky air.

"Asshole." You shot at him, before checking the time. '9:31pm'.

"Want me to clear out?" Ukai asked, standing up.

"No, you're alright. Unless you have to go, in which case the door's yours."

Ukai raised a brow at your comment.

"Not one to rock the boat, are you?"

"Maybe I'm just being considerate." You shot back, sticking your tongue out at him once more. 

Ukai considered that, taking another drag of his cigarette. For such a hostile person, you were surprisingly lenient. Is that why you freaked out so hard when you found out your boyfriend was going to propose? You sort of went along with everything for 'x' amount of years, but when things got real, you did what you had to in order to get out?

You squirmed under the gaze of the blond man, it seemed oddly stern. So why did it leave that tingling sensation between your legs? And why was your heart pounding so hard, as though all it wanted was to escape the confines of your chest and splay itself on the floor for him?

Taking another scoop of rocky road, you appreciated the taste of chocolate on your tongue, smiling to yourself.

"So you'll come?" His tone was friendly, and he looked like he genuinely wanted you to.

Your heavy sigh punctured the air at his words, "I suppose."

Spending the week with a bunch of teenage boys didn't sound appealing in the slightest - all their hormones and energy. But maybe you did need a break, and helping out on this trip might even distract you from Aito for the time being.

"Great, we leave tomorrow morning." 

Great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm SO sorry for the awkward flirting - that's all. 
> 
> But yeah rocky road is elite, and y'all's comments make my heart so happy, I love reading them! Thanks for supporting me so far, and stay tuned for more updates!


	5. Chapter 5

Waking up at the crack of dawn hadn't been the greatest. 

A call from Daichi had woken you up, incidentally, and he certainly seemed alarmed.

"WHERE ARE YOU? WE'RE GONNA BE LATE, IT'S ALREADY 6:30!"

You mumbled something groggily in response, completely incoherent. 

"THE BUS LEAVES AT 7:00!"

Eyes flying open, you jumped out of bed and gasped at how chilly your hard floor was. 

"Keep your hair on, Daichi, I'll be there soon." 

"You better-"

With a click, you hung up the phone, cutting your brother off mid-sentence and rolling your eyes. Muttering to yourself, you changed into fitting jeans and a striped tee shirt, thankful that it was cropped. You wanted to look somewhat presentable today, you thought as you brushed your hair quickly, styling it with a hair mist.

A glance into the mirror told you that you looked fine as hell, thanks to the jeans. A spritz of perfume, a roll of deodorant, and you were set. 

You'd kicked Ukai out around 10 last night, before he could offer to actually help you pack. The smell of cigarette smoke still lingered in your living room as you crossed it, footsteps quiet against the blue floor rug. A small suitcase sat by the front door, ready to go.

Grabbing an apple, you got a travel-mug ready to go and told yourself you'd speed on the way to your parents'. No way were you skipping out on coffee.

Daichi was fuming by the time you skidded in front of their house, tossing his own bag in the back seat unceremoniously. 

"What the hell?!" He barked, and you narrowed your eyes at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry, not only am I _chaperoning_ your little field trip, but I'm _driving_ you to the school." You growled at your little brother, who frowned.

"Besides," you started, sipping your coffee, "you're the captain. It's not like they'd leave without you."

Daichi grumbled something under his breath, and you rolled your eyes.

Finally reaching Karasuno, you spotted the bus by the gym and parked. An irritated-looking Ukai rushed over to your car as you stepped out, waving his arms.

"Come on, guys, this morning wasn't the time to drive like grannies." He gave you a pointed look as you struggled to lift your suitcase, huffing and ripping it off the ground with ease.

Tossing your suitcase over one shoulder, Ukai barked at Daichi to hurry it up. You flushed, jogging to keep up with him as he entered the bus, marveling at his raw strength. You refrained from making a smart comment, knowing it wasn't a good time for it.

Sure enough, the bus was full with the regular volleyball players, and you recognized Suga and Asahi, who waved at you with warm smiles. You and Daichi really were the only ones they were waiting for, it seemed.

"Alright, blockheads. Quiet down!" Ukai barked as Daichi slunk into the seat next to Suga and Asahi, practically drooping from being chewed out by his coach for being late.

"You all know Takeda's out with pneumonia, so we've recruited Daichi's older sister, Y/N, in his place. Give her a warm welcome."

All the boys greeted you in harmony, "Good morning, Sawamura-san!"

You flushed, as whispers followed: "Isn't she the lady from last week?", "She's Daichi's sister?", "Didn't she freak out at practice a few days ago?"

Ukai snapped at them, "Don't be disrespectful! Tanaka, Nishinoya, shut your mouths-" 

You patted his arm, giving him a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, Keishin. I can address them."

Eyes widening at your bold words, Ukai nodded wordlessly and shuffled aside. You cracked your knuckles and stared down the group of high school boys down. Suddenly, your stern look switched to a kind smile.

"I'm excited to get to know all of you on this trip, and being honest is the best way to start. Yes, that was me last week, yelling at Keishin in the middle of your practice. I'd just gone through a breakup moment, and he was the first thing to happen across my path after-the-fact."

The boys stared at you, silent. You kept on smiling, feeling embarrassed but wanting to get it out of the way.

"Putting that moment behind us is the best we can do, and I hope to earn your respect the right way. I might not be a volleyball expert, but I watch enough professional volleyball to know a little bit." Ukai's brow raised in interest, and his crossed arms slackened. You knew about volleyball? That was news to him.

"So don't be afraid to ask me for advice, and I'll do the best I can!" You finished brightly, bowing slightly to them before sitting down. 

Ukai stood, addressing the boys once more.

"Y/N may feel your respect needs to be earned, but I, for one, demand that you show her the utmost respect throughout this entire trip. Are we clear?"

A dozen faces nodded, gulping. Ukai sat down once more, and the boys resumed their conversations, laughing and talking more about how the training camp would go. You flushed, glancing at the man, who looked stern.

"Hey, thanks for that." 

Your small smile seemed to cause Ukai's heart to pound, and he managed a "Don't worry about it."

The bus creaked as the driver started up the engine, starting down the parking lot towards the street entrance. Ukai looked at you oddly, and you raised a brow.

"I didn't know you knew stuff about volleyball."

Your laugh was airy, and you smiled at him.

"Yeah, it's all Daichi would watch when he was little; years of being forced to watch it kind of made me appreciate it. Now I watch every game, even if Daichi's not there. I even record them in advance if I know I'll be busy."

Ukai took that information in as you glanced at your watch.

"How long's the drive?"

"A few hours." 

Sighing, you got comfy in your seat, putting your legs up and resting your back against the wall of the bus to face the bleach-blond man adjacent to you. You begun to untangle your earbuds, ready to fall asleep to classical music.

"Good, 'cause the coffee hasn't kicked in yet." You closed your eyes, putting your backpack as a pillow behind your head. 

"What are you gonna listen to?" 

"Classical."

A snort from Ukai made you open your eyes, scowling. "Problem?"

"No, Takeda listens to the same thing. It's just funny, that's all. Classical isn't the most thrilling of genres."

"Fine, I'll listen to something else, if it pleases your highness." You spat, yanking the headphones out of the headphone-jack and shoving them away. A quick scroll through your music library, and you selected a definitely non-classical song to play for him.

The bouncy music filled the front of the bus, and you leaned back in satisfaction, singing along to the words.

_Tell lil' shorty come here,_

_I'm tryna blow her back out, walking funny for the year_

_Tell me that you want me, that's the shit I always hear_

_I got three bitches on me like the three musketeers -_

Ukai had looked surprised at first, but looked increasingly irritated as some of the kids seated near the front of the bus eyed the pair of you curiously. You smirked, raising your phone threateningly.

"I have more."

Scoffing, Ukai snatched your phone, pausing the music.

"Oh, no you don't."

Sticking your tongue out, you made a grab for your phone, but Ukai seized your wrist, holding the phone out of reach.

"I'll give this back if you play something else."

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you're a prude." You snickered, and Ukai flushed. "Definitely not a prude, just don't want the kids hearing stuff like that."

"Actually-" Suga piped up suddenly from his second-row seat, poking his head over the top of your seat, "-we already listen to stuff like that."

"Yeah!" A boy with close-shaved hair added in from his position near the middle of the bus, standing up abruptly. A shorter boy with bleached bangs, gelled up, yelled in agreement too.

"Tanaka, Noya, sit your asses down!" Ukai shouted, and the boys grumbled before doing so. Suga smiled at you, addressing you personally.

"Y/N just has good taste."

"Thanks, Suga." You said appreciatively, raising a brow at Ukai that seemed to say, 'how about that?'

Dropping your phone back onto your lap, Ukai rolled his eyes and released your wrist, drawing back to sit in his own seat once more.

You frowned, missing the contact, but drew your headphones back to your ears, shuffling your music library. 

A song you hadn't heard in a long time came up first - it was soft, and its tinkling notes reminded you of a lullaby, but you were reminded it was not once the acoustic guitar swept in, almost overpowering the softness. Your face fell noticeably, and Ukai looked questioningly at you.

You shook your head at him, silently telling him not to worry, but he raised a brow suspiciously. Rolling your eyes, you moved to his seat, sitting next to him and offering an earbud. 

"Aito showed me this song when we first started dating." You explained, and Ukai said nothing, merely taking in the sound of guitar and piano.

"There's no words." He suddenly said, after realizing the discrepancy. You smiled softly, feeling tears fill your eyes.

"There didn't need to be, with Aito."

Ukai looked at you from the side, unsure of what to do. A tear slid down your cheek, and the man slowly put an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into him and rubbing it up and down reassuringly. You almost froze, but ended up resting your head on his hard chest, a pink tint working its way onto your face.

"Whatever happened with him, you're strong on your own. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

A shocked look crossed your face at Ukai's words, which were said firmly. A strange warmth crept through your heart at the compliment, and you bit your lip, staring straight ahead of you. You certainly didn't feel you were very strong, it had been years since you heard that word, it seemed.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." You said teasingly, but Ukai knew you meant it from the way your voice trembled. 

Instead of responding, Ukai merely squeezed your shoulder.

When he first met you, it would have been easy to write you off as a nuisance. A pain, someone unworthy of his support because of how much it would've taken from him, how much it would have drained him to comfort you.

But oddly enough, every time he saw you, heard your voice, saw your playful smile, Ukai couldn't help but feel his heart melt all over again.

If he was going to fling you aside, he would've done it that first day; and the fact that he didn't, the fact he hung on to you, it scared the man right to the bone.

***

You were wide awake by the time the bus made it to the training camp location, practically bouncing off the walls of the bus, much to Ukai's annoyance.

"Oh, come on!" You'd protested, when Ukai had finally told you to shut up. An expression of mock-hurt stared back at him, as you poked his cheek and sneered maliciously at his irritated face. 

"Grumpy grump." You finally huffed, flopping back in your seat and pulling your phone out. The bus careened into a parking space, and you stood as you checked your text messages, absentmindedly dragging your suitcase off the bus as you went.

Ukai rolled his eyes and grabbed your backpack, which you'd left in your seat.

Daichi caught on, recognizing your backpack slung on his coach's back, and immediately begun to apologize.

"Sorry, she's-" Ukai cut him off quickly, "Don't worry about it."

You were just reading a message you'd gotten from Becca, your assistant manager, when Ukai dumped your backpack into your arms. Jumping, you glared fiercely at the man, barking, "What the hell?!"

"Hey, I could've left it back in the bus." Ukai's words were testy, but you knew he wouldn't have left it back in the bus.

Rolling your eyes, you looked back at your phone, following Ukai absentmindedly as the team filed into the building. The bleach-blond was walking slower than usual, since you were distracted by your phone, and was doing his best to be patient.

"Sorry, I'm just making sure Becca keeps everything under control at the shop while I'm gone." 

"Isn't she a manager?"

You nodded, clicking out of your thread with Becca to select Emma's; you'd made her promise to give you updates at every opportunity, regardless of how small they were. You already had six, and sighed with regret at leaving the shop in the first place. 

"So can't she handle the shop for a few days by herself?"

Eyes flitting to his profile, you blinked when you saw his arms were crossed, and he was tapping his foot. Laughing sheepishly, you put your phone away and fell into step with him, going at a much quicker pace.

"I know she can, it's just hard - leaving it behind like that." You sounded wistful, as though you actually missed your store. Ukai snorted.

"I get the whole loving-your-work thing, but everyone wants a decent break from their job."

"Not me," You said brightly, pointing at yourself confidently, "my flower shop's my baby and I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Ukai felt that warm feeling in his heart again, seeing that fire in your eyes. It was admirable, really, that you were so devoted to something you loved - it made Ukai want to tell you that you were beautiful when you got like this, cheeks flushed with pride at having built something from the ground up, that sustaining attitude causing his heartbeat to quicken.

He wanted to grab your hand, pull you close - but that wouldn't help anything. He wanted to tell you that you deserved everything the world had to offer, that your toothy grin raised his own spirits, that spending time with you made him realize everything he wanted - everything. 

But that would be too much.

So instead, the volleyball coach looked at you and smiled, and kept walking down the hallway with you.

Reaching the main room was a relief to Ukai, the ring of coaches from the neighboring volleyball teams chattering among each other. 

The relief was short-lived, however, as a grey-haired, portly man noticed your entrance and sneered.

"Oh, look who made it!" You supposed his words were neutral enough, but the way he said them made your blood boil. Glaring at the man, you opened your mouth to retort, but closed it upon seeing Ukai's face.

"Nekomata." Ukai's words were jovial as he clasped the older, shorter man's hand in a firm handshake - but his eyes were daggers. You wanted to break them apart, for fear they would crush each other - but someone beat you to it.

"Come, come, let's all be friendly." A dark-haired man with a clean crew-cut strode up to the pair of them, patting Ukai and Nekomata on the back firmly. Upon seeing you, the man halted in his tracks slightly, staring. You gave him a weird look, and Ukai noticed the exchange, slinging an arm around your shoulder.

"Everyone, this is Y/N, she'll be filling in for our club advisor. She's one of the boys' older sister."

The dark-haired man, who'd been peace-keeping a minute ago, gave you a startlingly white-toothed smile. His pearly whites stood out against his tanned skin, and you blushed as he took your hand in his, shaking it gently but lingering.

"Manabu Naoi, I'm one of Nekoma's coaches." He said, looking charming as he beamed. 

"Y/N. Nice to meet you." You said with a smile, but were thankful when he let go. Meeting the rest of the coaches was a breeze, and you found yourself getting along with most of them just fine, talking about different teams and stats from previous years.

The only one who really rubbed you the wrong way was Nekomata - the rude-looking man from earlier, who'd shook hands with Ukai. 

You supposed his co-coach, Naoi, was alright - he talked to you the most out of all the rest of the coaches, asking about yourself and tossing in the occasional compliment. The way he looked you up and down, though, and the way he casually placed his hand on your arm - it just made you confused and uncomfortable.

At one point, you excused yourself from the meeting to use the restroom just to get away from the clinging Naoi.

The second you'd left, Naoi turned to Ukai, who was still glowering at how close the dark-haired man had been getting to you. 

"She's something, huh?" Naoi asked, almost in a dazed way. "Hot stuff."

Ukai made a sound somewhere between anger and protest, grabbing Naoi's arm and pulling him close.

"Hey man, what are you-" Naoi had started, but blanched at the death-glare he was currently receiving from the bleach-blond man. 

Suddenly feeling foolish, and being keenly aware of his surroundings, Ukai let the man go without a word. Causing a scene wouldn't be a great idea, it was very kind of the coaches to have let Karasuno take part in the training camp at all. The last thing Ukai wanted was to get his team kicked out of the event, his boys didn't deserve that. 

And Ukai was sure you would've been disappointed in him, even though punching Naoi's lights out would have put a swift halt to him being a nuisance for you. At least, Ukai _assumed_ Naoi was a nuisance to you; or maybe _hoped_ was be a better word.

So when you returned and Naoi flocked to your side, trying to act cool and ask what you were doing later, Ukai gritted his teeth and let it slide.

In his self-restraint, Ukai hadn't noticed the 'help me' look in your eyes as you attempted to fend off Naoi single-handedly.

He needed a cigarette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ppcocaine is a queen, and I've had '3 Musketeers' stuck in my head for a good while. 
> 
> Heyo y'all, hope you're enjoying so far! Been trying to find time to write in between classes, plus I have a couple other on-going Haikyuu fics in the air. Really liking how this one's coming out so far, though, Ukai's my king :') <3


	6. Chapter 6

"What the hell was that about?" 

You said incredulously to Ukai, who was toweling off his wet hair.

After his cigarette break, the put-off man had returned to your and his assigned room, not wanting to have another tassle with the blinding-toothed Nekoma coach, Naoi.

He merely grunted, and you finally realized he was shirtless, and that the only thing between your eyes and his crotch was a fastened towel around his waist. 

Gasping, you put hands over your eyes, blocking your vision. Part of you had wanted to stare, to ogle him, but that would've just been rude and unprecedented. The man was virtually a stranger, you hadn't known him for more than a week.

Ukai chuckled at your surprised embarrassment, turning to face you as he went to grab a shirt.

"I mean, really, you practically threw me to the wolves back there!" You huffed, still angry but flushed by his appearance all the same.

Ukai clothed himself quickly, covered now by a red tee and grey sweats. A killer combination, you noted as you finally took your hands away from your eyes.

"Just didn't want to be there anymore." Ukai said coolly as he put his piercings in.

You were almost distracted by the shiny metal, nearly drooling over the attractive sight, but pulled yourself together.

"Oh, please! I barely knew those people, and you thought it was aye-okay to head on out by yourself?" You sounded pretty peeved, and Ukai raised a brow.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Ukai said flatly, though he knew he was lying to himself. He did basically leave you for dead, especially with that fiend Naoi being all grabby and annoying.

Biting your lip, you just looked at Ukai. The look of disappointment you gave him crushed the man's heart, and he felt even guiltier.

"Keishin..." You started, but trailed off.

Shaking your head, you grabbed a couple things from your bag and went to the door.

"Ah, forget it. I'm gonna shower, 'kay?" You didn't sound as angry as before, even managing a small smile, almost as though you'd come to terms with what happened, readily forgiving Ukai. That made him feel even worse, and he raked a hand through his hair as you disappeared through the door into the hallway.

Jogging after you down the hall, Ukai stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. 

"You okay?" You asked, turning to look at the man with concern. 

"Sorry about earlier." Ukai said, rubbing the back of his neck and refusing to meet your eyes. The sound of you laughing lightly tore his gaze up to your face, and you punched him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, I'm a big girl."

Ukai stared. You'd practically done a one-eighty, having been thoroughly irritated three minutes ago.

"Really, it's fine. I guess I was annoyed at how touchy Naoi was being, but I'll just tell him I'm not interested if it comes up again." 

You were truthful, having realized that you were only upset at being hit on aggressively by a stranger. You actually felt a lot better explaining yourself to Ukai, making sure that he knew you weren't mad at him.

Ukai was still frozen in place, his brain working on the words you'd just said, when you gave him a quick hug, squeezing around his torso gently.

"We're all good." And with a warm smile and wave, you continued down the hall and out of sight, rounding the corner towards the women's bathroom.

Thoughts flew through Ukai's mind at the speed of light, trying to process what just happened. You...weren't interested in Naoi, you actually didn't appreciate how he was acting towards you at all.

And...you had just hugged him - that was the part that Ukai was flabbergasted about. 

When he finally regained his sense of control over his brain, he flushed deeply, turning on his heel and marching back into your room, sliding the door shut with a snap.

His heart still pounded, as he tried to relive the hug, remember exactly where you'd touched him. Ukai blushed, wishing you'd do it again. He'd hug you back this time, squeezing you hard enough to lift you right off your feet.

***

You had a lot to think about as you washed yourself off in the shower.

The bathrooms were a little risky, privacy-wise, because they were open to the entire building. It'd be pretty embarrassing to be walked in on by a stranger, so you were lucky you decided to show up around 10 pm. The shower-room was empty, each stall cordoned off by a small section of wall; but apart from that, there was full visibility.

You tried not to let yourself get too consumed in your thoughts, doing your best to remain alert. This might be the girls' room, but you wouldn't put it past a few of the guys to 'accidentally' walk into the wrong one.

All the same, your thoughts wandered to that of the blond man back in your room. 

When Ukai had first informed you that the pair of you would be sharing it, you'd gone bright red, shouting in disbelief, "W-What?!"

"I-It's because there aren't a lot of rooms to go around! They always pair up the coaches and club advisors!" The man looked just as embarrassed as you, putting his hands up in defense as he spoke.

"Alright." You said after a minute, not without narrowing your eyes in suspicion at him.

The room was smaller than you'd expected too, though you supposed it made sense, given the training facility was a little dated. Ukai had let you settle in first, and put his futon as far away from you as it could get. It was probably out of respect, but you couldn't help but wish he'd put it closer.

A sudden sound from the next room over made you jump, and you nearly dropped your shampoo.

"W-Who's there?" You cursed yourself for sounding so timid, peeking out into the rest of the shower-room. Two shadows appeared in the doorway bridging the showers and the locker-room, and you gasped.

"Sawamura-san?" 

A raven-haired woman wearing glasses stepped into the shower-room, followed by a shorter, blonde girl.

"Y-Yes?" You squeaked, still hiding behind the short wall to protect your privacy. You were keenly aware of how the two girls were fully dressed, wishing they would catch onto the social protocol and leave you and your nudity be.

"We haven't introduced ourselves yet, but we're Karasuno's managers." The girl still looked straight-faced, and you gawked at her.

"O-Oh? Nice to meet you?" Your tone was still questioning, and the blonde girl grimaced.

"S-Sorry, we completely interrupted your shower, didn't we?"

You gave a quick nod, grimacing back.

"How about we wait outside until you finish?" 

You nodded gratefully at the blonde girl, saying "Sounds good."

They exited, leaving you to stare after them, eyes wide. How odd.

Sure enough, by the time you emerged from the showers, wrapped in your black silk robe and clutching your folded clothes, the girls were there waiting for you.

The taller one bowed to you, and the blonde waved sheepishly.

"My apologies for earlier. I'm Kiyoko, and this is Yachi."

"A-Ah, good to meet you! I'm Daichi's older sister." You said, smiling at them and bowing slightly. 

"He's spoken highly of you, you know." 

You scoffed at that, rolling your eyes with a smile.

"Ha, I doubt that."

"No really, he's always talking about you and your flower shop! I think he really looks up to you!" Yachi chimed in, and flushed when you fixed your eyes on her.

"Well, I guess that's nice. He's got way more prospects than I did at his age, though, he'll do something way cooler than me." 

Your words rang with an odd truth, and you smiled to yourself. Daichi was a good kid, a loyal brother, and a smart person. He worked harder than anyone you knew, constantly bettering his techniques, whether it was on the court or in the classroom. 

Whatever he decided to do, you knew Daichi would master it - any vocation, any goal, anything at all - it was his.

You wished you had that kind of steady drive at your age, the determination to conquer anything and everything. When you were eighteen, your biggest concern was whether or not you'd get home safe and sober, and it always seemed like one of those traits were missing. 

Not that you weren't proud of yourself and your progress, but you could've been a better kid. Should've done a sport or hobby or something, at least one that didn't involve being a complete and utter failure in your parents' eyes. 

It took years for you to get your shit together, and actually do something productive. There were so many hard moments in your 'wild years', as you liked to call them, that you could hardly remember them. That time you puked on your best friend's lawn, while some guy whose name you couldn't remember held your hair back - perfect gentleman, am I right?

One night, you'd come excruciatingly close to alcohol poisoning, and to say it wasn't a fun experience was putting it lightly.

Honestly, you weren't sure why you'd drank away the 'best years of your life' as your parents would say, but meeting Aito washed all of that away.

He hadn't judged, hadn't even laughed when you said you'd been hospitalized for your habits at twenty years old. You knew right then that he might be someone you could actually get along with, and come to an understanding with. 

You had just started up your business, you'd put down the rent for your location, and were starting to set up stock by yourself. It wasn't easy in the slightest, but sometimes Aito would help out - lifting things, moving fixtures, making the right calls to the right people for the right construction. He had honestly been a saint.

And you'd just let him go, after everything he did for you.

"Hey, you alright?" 

Your head snapped up, and you gaped at Kiyoko.

"W-What?"

"You kinda spaced out." Yachi said, cocking her head and looking concerned.

"O-Oh, I'm all good. Just tired from the drive."

"We'll let you get to bed. Would you help us with breakfast tomorrow, though? All the team managers are cooking for the players, and it'd be awesome if we had a cool older-sister figure like you to help out!"

You stared at them, somewhat taken aback.

"A sister figure?" 

"Ah, you don't have to help out if you'd rather not." Kiyoko said quickly, but you waved her off.

"No, no, I'd love to. What time?"

Your eyes bugged out of your head at the time they gave you. That was practically at the crack of dawn! What was it with people and early-start times?!

"Sheesh, that's early!" You exclaimed, rubbing the back of your neck and smiling sheepishly.

They didn't say anything, just looked at you expectantly.

"...Sure, I'll be there."

"Great! We'll see you then. Sleep well!"

And with that, they were gone, walking down the hallway towards their rooms. You stared after them, sighing at the thought of waking up yet again in the early morning.

***

The smirk you were met with upon returning to the room was wide and full of mirth. 

"Nice robe." 

"S-Shut up, my favorite one was dirty." You shot back, folding your arms and flouncing past Ukai, who was lounging comfortably on his futon, eyes trained on your form.

You had to admit, you looked _good_. And maybe you had packed this one with the utmost intent of looking this good, and maybe you were planning on wearing it as you passed him in the hall, but you hadn't known you'd be rooming with the guy! 

The way he was looking at you made a familiar heat creep up in your naval, and you pressed your lips together and turned away from him.

"I've gotta change, can you butt out?"

You hadn't meant to sound harsh, but it helpfully caused the man to snap out of his hungry stare.

"You want me to leave the room?"

"At least cover your eyes."

"Aw, come on, princess."

"Eyes closed." You said firmly, giving him a dirty look. 

Rolling his eyes, Ukai put two hands over his eyes, mumbling under his breath.

"No peeking!" 

"Don't worry, I won't."

Ukai had never wanted to peek so badly in his life - and he was hardly the peeping-tom sort. The way you'd looked in that black robe, even if it wasn't as short and tight as he'd imagined it, you were just incredibly beautiful. Wet hair, droplets still clinging to your skin, Ukai didn't think such a casual look could be so utterly charming. 

He wouldn't peek, of course, but that didn't mean he wasn't tempted.

You gave him a quick glare, before turning to pull off the robe and dress yourself.

"Alright, you can look."

"What's with the hoodie?" Ukai immediately spoke upon seeing your new appearance - sweats, hoodie, and likely a tee under the hoodie. It was already pretty warm in the room, how could you be wearing more than one layer?

"I-I get cold easily after showers." You said, feeling abashed at the question. 

Ukai worked to keep an amused smile off his face - it was just too rich. Such a prickly, fiery person getting cold? After something so trivial as a shower? He wasn't expecting it from someone like you, who lashed out at the littlest thing and would angrily knit your brows together the second he said something provocative.

"That's kinda cute." You noticed a flush on the man's cheeks, and raised a brow at him. What was he playing at? The uncertainty in your stomach built up at his words, and you didn't like the feeling.

None of it made sense to you. You hardly knew each other, but you knew for a fact that you were the more problematic one between the both of you. He didn't need to stick around, or pretend to care, or blush when you said something like that. It puzzled and irritated you, the way he looked at you like that, in his coolly caring way.

"Thanks, I guess." 

A moment passed, and Ukai spoke up once more.

"Are you gonna sleep with that on? You'll overheat."

"What's it to you?"

Ukai wet his lips, turning his gaze to the floor. You narrowed your eyes at him.

"Really, what's it to you? You've been nothing but nice to me, even though I'm awful most of the time, and I don't fucking get it."

There was no response from the man, which only irritated you further. 

"Why? We don't even know each other! I'm not the ideal person to be around, in case you haven't-"

"-I'm no saint, either." Ukai's whispered words stopped you short, and your lips were parted slightly, the final word having been halfway out your mouth.

Snorting, you rolled your eyes, pulling off your hoodie and tossing it aside.

"No offense, but that's obvious. And by the way, you wanted the hoodie off? It's off. It's chilly as fuck out here, but it's off."

You weren't sure why you felt so angry at the man, but that didn't stop you from being aggressive person you'd grown to be. Ukai could shove it up his ass, it was none of his damn business whether you sweated like a pig or froze to death - either fate was preferable to this overwhelming pity. He had no right to care about you like that - as if he actually knew you. 

"Quit pitying me." You spat, pulling socks on as you settled into your futon, not before clicking the light off angrily and watching the room become enveloped in darkness.

Ukai stared at your back through the gloom, scowling until he saw you visibly shiver from under the thin covers.

His expression softened, and he sighed, making to drag his futon over to yours.

You really were a piece of work.

Still facing away from him, your eyes widened as you heard him move closer, settling in next to you.

"I don't pity you." The words were whispered from a foot away, and you flushed at being so close to him, not daring to respond. Cold was setting in your arms, and you could barely keep your teeth from chattering. This was why you took day showers.

"I'm gonna keep you warm, princess." 

A brief pause.

"O-Okay."

Your response surprised both of you, but mostly the blond man beside you.

A few seconds after speaking, however, you felt arms pull you softly, and then a comfortable warmth was pressed against your back. 

You smiled at the feeling, but were acutely aware of Ukai's arm slung over your hip, awkwardly holding onto the sheet to stable himself. To keep himself from grabbing onto you.

"If you're gonna cuddle me, there's no point doing it half-way. Otherwise, I might as well just put the hoodie back on."

Scoffing, Ukai pulled you closer, fully holding you, silently saying the hoodie was to remain in the corner of the room for the night.

You smirked at his childish actions, letting him press his feet into the futon, resting so close next to your own. For the first time since re-entering the room, you felt content.

Maybe it was the cute nick-name he gave you, or the way you were somehow warmer than you'd felt in years while in his arms, as though the sun had come out and was melting all the snow off of a hillock on an early spring day, letting the flowers' color bleed through the dissolving frost.

"Hey..." You murmured, realizing your eyes had slid shut.

"Mm?" Ukai had started to drift off too, from the sound of it.

"Why do you call me that?"

"Hnn, call you what?" He sounded like he was merely humoring you, still half-drifting off.

"Princess."

"Mm, 'cause you're prissy." 

You rolled your eyes, resisting the urge to jab him in the ribs with your elbow. The only thing keeping you from it was the knowledge that he'd push you away in retaliation, and you'd be cold again.

"At least I'm not a prude." 

You felt hot breath on your ear, and a shiver ran down your spine.

"I'm no prude, princess. Told ya that before, didn't I?"

"O-Oh, sorry." You stiffened in response to his words, trying to quell the heated feeling between your legs. This was not the time.

"Apology accepted." He sounded amused, and you grimaced.

That was the last thing either of you said for a while, too busy trying not too seem like you were enjoying yourselves too much.

At one point, however, as the moon gleamed overhead in the dark night sky above the little training building, sleep overcame both of you, dragging you under in its elusive, comforting embrace.

And from the moment you fell asleep to the moment you awoke to your alarm the next day, Ukai held you like his life depended on it, electrified by how close he was to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, hope you're enjoying! I mentioned in my last update that my fall classes have started, and actually, this week my job started back up! So the time I have for writing has diminished significantly, but that won't stop me from updating as often as I can, 'cause I'm really enjoying the story so far :D
> 
> So bear with me, and definitely leave comments of what you want to see or what you think will happen next! Thanks for reading <3


	7. Chapter 7

You blearily opened your eyes, not knowing where you were.

It was pitch black, but you reached for your phone and abruptly froze. 

Someone was next to you. Close.

Their warmth radiated on your back, and they were pressed close to you.

You whimpered, scrambling to get away from him and dragging the blanket as you did so.

Aito. It had to be. 

You felt tears fill your eyes, wiping at them roughly and sniffling from your corner. 

How could you have done it? Again?!

You'd really gone back for more? Hadn't you done enough already, ripping his heart in two and stomping on it?!

'God, I'm the worst person on the planet.' You thought to yourself, drawing your knees to your chest and trying to get control of yourself, but instead just rocking back and forth on your haunches, breathing quick and shallow puffs of air.

Ukai shivered, opening his eyes and realizing the blanket had been pulled off of him. Scowling, he groaned.

You froze, eyes wide open as you watched the figure shift in his place.

The last thing you wanted was for Aito to wake up, the guilt consuming you entirely.

Numb feet slapped on the floor as you rose, nearly diving for the door and yanking it open.

You sank onto your knees in the hall, bewildered by the unfamiliar darkness surrounding you. This wasn't Aito's penthouse, at least not the one you were used to.

Maybe it was the Tokyo one? You hadn't been there in a while, maybe he'd redecorated.

Your confused mind grasped at straws as you shivered on the cold tile, burying your head in your arms and sobbing quietly.

This wasn't right, this didn't feel good at all.

"What...are you doing on the floor?"

You nearly jumped out of your skin at the voice, yelping as someone touched your shoulder.

"N-No!" You choked, knowing it was him.

It was Aito and he was there to beg for you to come back to him and you wouldn't be able to say no and you'd be right back where you started, miserable and trapped and-

"Princess, what the fuck is going on?"

Opening your eyes, you saw a blurry figure through the tears; but it certainly wasn't Aito.

Hiccuping, you squinted to see a crop of messy blond hair, and a disgruntled expression.

"...K-Keishin?" You sniffed, wiping your nose on your hand.

"Who the fuck else?" He said roughly, and your lip trembled. 

His expression softened, and he offered a hand. "Sorry, that was pretty harsh."

You took his hand, and he pulled you up easily. The second you were up, you were hugging him, crying softly into his chest.

"W-What t-time is it?" You asked, trying to regain composure as he rubbed your back. "Almost seven."

"O-Oh. I have to help the girls make breakfast soon." You said numbly

"Not until you tell me what's going on first." Ukai's voice was stern, but laced with genuine concern. His hand rubbed at your neck, and you sighed at the feeling, nearly cracking a smile.

You nodded, and he led you back to the shared room, sliding the door shut.

"It was stupid." You started, laughing as you wiped at your tears, "I just thought...you were him." 

Ukai blinked at you from his position on the futon.

"Him as in...Aito?"

You nodded, flushing. "S-Sorry, pretty stupid, huh?"

Ukai shook his head. "It's not."

"And I thought," you continued slowly, "...I thought that I'd gone back to him again, and it really scared me."

The blond man nodded, giving you a look you couldn't place.

"What?" You asked, crossing your arms.

Ukai shrugged.

"I guess I just don't get why you were scared. Everyone makes mistakes like that sometimes."

You bit your lip, trying to keep the tears from filling your eyes as you reflected on his words. 

"Yeah..." You said, staring at the floor.

Ukai stared at you, not sure what to do. Did he say something wrong?

"But I've made so many mistakes in my life, that to make another one seems like the last straw." You blurted, whipping the salty water from yours eyes as they leaked. 

"I've made _so_ many, Keishin, and he was supposed to be the thing that went right! He wasn't supposed to be another mistake, and he _wasn't_ a mistake at all, but I _still_ managed to fuck it all up!" 

You let out a shaking sob, twisting your hands as you cried.

"And I don't wanna go back, because if I did, that would be like losing part of myself entirely." 

Sucking in a shuddering breath, you gritted your teeth and continued.

"And it's not my pride, it's _me_. It's who I am, and I don't wanna lose that to become some trophy wife because I'm _not_!"

You sank onto the floor, raking a hand through your hair and letting out a deep sigh.

"I can't be that person. I'm _not_ that person."

Ukai marveled at how the tears glittered on your eyelashes, the shimmering droplets were almost pretty splayed across your cheeks. Shaking his head to clear it, he crawled over to you and helped you up.

"I think that's the first time you've actually opened up to me." He said, a grin quirking up the corner of his mouth.

You sniffled, a small smile working across your face as you accepted his warm hand.

"And if it makes ya feel any better," he said with a sly grin, "the thought of you chained to a mini-mansion in the suburbs makes me wanna laugh, it's so unlike you."

You brightened at that. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're definitely not the soccer-mom type."

Narrowing your eyes, you scoffed.

"Oh definitely not, I'll be a volleyball mom, if anything." 

Ukai raised his brow, taken aback.

"You plan on having kids?" 

You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms.

"If I meet someone I want to have kids with, sure."

Ukai nodded. That was fair.

"How about you?" You asked, curiosity piqued.

The man's face hardened.

"I never had a problem with the idea of kids, until my family started harrassing me for them. Always 'grandkids' this and 'grandkids' that, like I don't have a choice about it."

You laughed, and Ukai looked incredulously at you.

"Oh come on, tell me your parents weren't disappointed when you ditched Aito."

Freezing, you turned to face the man, a deadly look in your eye.

"Are you implying that I'm unable to find someone willing to have kids with me?" Your voice was dangerously low.

Ukai gulped.

"I'm just saying your folks' prospects of you having kids with Aito dropped to zero after that."

Your face relaxed, but you kept your lips pressed together, eyes narrowed at Ukai.

"Good save." 

"No really, I think you'd be a great mom." Ukai insisted, hardly thinking. 

"You barely know me!" You exclaimed, laughing and waving him off.

Rolling his eyes, Ukai turned to grab fresh clothes for the day from his bag.

"Come on, it doesn't take much to figure you'd be a good one."

Chewing on his lip, Ukai voiced something that had been concerning him ever since the night before.

"And quit saying I barely know you, it's getting annoying."

Your face fell, and you laughed sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry. I guess you know me as well as most people do by now, at the rate I complain about my failed relationship."

"I'm not complaining about it."

You smiled at his genuine expression, knowing he was serious. 

"Well, that's good to hear. 'Cause there's way more where that came from."

Ukai laughed.

"How about we throw some new trauma in with the old stuff? Make some of our own memories, eh? Mix it up?"

You grinned, throwing an arm around him.

"You bet. But first, I've gotta meet the girls. I'll see ya later?"

Ukai's cheeks went pink at your embrace, but nodded all the same, murmuring a "Yeah, see ya later" as eloquently as he could to your retreating figure.

It seemed the more he learned about you, the warmer he felt, every personal tidbit and quirk acting as a tossed log onto a steadily-growing inferno of affection.

Stripping off his shirt, Ukai sighed and tossed it aside in favor of the clean one.

Before long, he'd burn alive.

***

You skipped down the hall, towards the mess hall.

Kiyoko had given you directions, but you were still having trouble finding the room.

"Shit..." You muttered, glancing down one hall and then another. Which was it, left or right?

Racking your brain, you sighed in exasperation when you realized there was no way of bringing that memory back. 

"You alright, doll?"

Jumping, you turned to see Naoi strolling towards you. He wasn't in his coach attire, however, sporting a pair of sweats and a tee himself.

You nearly grimaced as his pearly whites shone, the smile causing you to squint at the brightness. Seriously, did he whiten his teeth every day?

"Ah, yeah, just having a bit of trouble finding the mess hall."

"Oh, I'm headed there myself! I can walk ya there."

Discomfort filled your stomach at the prospect of getting hit on as he led you to your destination, but it's not as though you had much of a choice. 

Besides, you'd be able to break off the second you got there, as you were only going there to help out Kiyoko and Yachi.

"Okay, thanks!"

Tossing another blinding grin your way, Naoi fell into step beside you, going to the left hallway.

So it was the left.

"So, you have a boyfriend?" 

Your insides turned to ice at his words, and you nearly stopped in your tracks.

Brazen, wasn't he?

"Uh, not currently." You said delicately, leaving it at that.

Naoi nodded, grin widening. You didn't like the look of that.

"Gotcha."

A brief silence, but then the young Nekoma coach spoke again.

"So how'd you get roped into this, again? You're the sister of one of the players?"

"Ah, yeah. Daichi, the captain, I'm his big sister."

Naoi hummed his approval.

"There's quite a rivalry between your brother and our own captain, Kuroo. He's ecstatic you guys are here to train with them."

"Aw, that's sweet." You said, smiling.

"Well, not really. I think Kuroo just wants to size you guys up."

Rolling your eyes, you laughed.

"There's no point, we'll kick your asses regardless."

Naoi's eyebrows shot up, and he stopped walking for a minute. Staring at him, you gave him a questioning look.

"What? Can't take a bit of trash talk?"

At that, the dark-haired man let out a booming laugh.

"Man, you're spunky! I love that in a woman."

"Aha, thanks." You laughed along with him, unsure of how to respond to that.

"Say, are you and Ukai coming along for drinks tonight? Nekomata's pretty psyched about it." 

Naoi's question nearly threw you off-guard. You hadn't expected to be dragged along to social coach events, as you were only here as a chaperone.

"Oh, I'm not sure. I guess if Keishin wants to go, I can go too." You mused, more to yourself than Naoi, whose eyes flickered with jealousy.

"Ah, well. I hope you come, it'll be a lot of fun." He gave you a closed-eye smile, pushing open a door and letting you in first.

Tables and chairs were lined up in rows in the spacious room, large windows allowing the morning light to filter through and illuminate the building.

The mess hall.

"Whoa, are we here already? It seemed like such a large facility." You said, awed.

"Guess time flies when you're having fun." Naoi said confidently, sending you a wink. You laughed nervously, waving as you made your way to the kitchen area, thanking him as you went.

The most uncomfortable walk of your life, but at least you got to know your team's rival coach a little better? Didn't seem like much of a useful silver lining, when you thought about it.

Kiyoko and Yachi were thrilled to see you, even if you were still in your pajamas.

"Good morning!" They said, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as it were.

"Was that Nekoma's assistant coach you were talking to?" Yachi asked excitedly, a flush crossing her face.

"Yeah, Naoi." You said, forcing a smile.

"He's so cute!" She squealed, hugging her spatula.

"Ah, yeah, I guess." You said, rubbing the back of your neck and turning to the array of bowls and ingredients on the counter.

"Not your type?" Kiyoko asked, giving you a very knowing look for someone so much younger than you.

You flushed. Naoi certainly wasn't your type, though his general appearance did match that of Aito's. Except Aito had a more wild, wind-swept look about him, while Naoi seemed very straight-laced and anything but rough around the edges.

Your mind flitted to Ukai. Bleached hair, piercings, addicted to cigarettes - he was nothing like Aito, either. You'd never seen Aito go near a cigarette, and he'd always refrained from alcohol at gatherings.

Ukai seemed even more rough around the edges the more you thought about him, from the way he spoke, to the way he dressed in old blue jeans, to the way he said your name so sensually -

 _'Don't think like that, idiot.'_ You cursed yourself, blushing.

"Yeah, Naoi's not really my type." You finally said, realizing Kiyoko was waiting for a response.

She nodded, turning to continue mixing batter in a bowl. Yachi also nodded, but took a minute before she returned her task to ask you to cut up some fruit.

Pointing off to the side, you spotted a pile of fruits and nodded, going over to grab a knife.

***

"Thanks for all the help!" 

The two girls thanked you, and you waved with a grin.

"No problem, I'll see you guys a little later!"

It was time to head back to the room and change into actual clothes. You'd scarfed down some breakfast after you'd finished helping out, just as the players started trailing in.

Most of them were from other teams, and you didn't really recognize them. You did spot Daichi, however, trailing after Asahi sleepily, and went to smack him on the back.

"-Hey!" Daichi shouted in protest, glaring at you as you laughed.

"Good morning to you too, grumpy." 

Asahi laughed, looking chipper. He was certainly a morning person, you said to yourself, remembering all the times you'd woken at your parents' house to see Asahi making breakfast at the crack of dawn.

It would usually be Daichi to wake up next, shuffling downstairs after the sleepover to plop into a stool at the table.

Then Suga, looking like a zombie. Definitely not a morning person, you'd deduced after greeting him and receiving a cold-and-confused stare back one morning.

Now, Suga wasn't even in sight, meaning he was still sleeping.

You prayed for all of his teammates' souls, especially for the player unlucky enough to be the one to wake him up.

"Go get some breakfast, I helped make it!" You said eagerly, pointing at yourself proudly.

Asahi grinned.

"Thanks, Y/N!"

The pair shuffled off towards the kitchen area, and you continued down the hall back the way you'd come that morning.

You were decently sure you could figure out the way back by retracing your steps, not wanting to ask Naoi for help a second time that morning.

The man had been sipping coffee at a far table the last you'd seen, and you were glad he hadn't spotted you slip out of the mess hall.

It was quiet in the long hallways, your footsteps echoing off the tiled floors with small thuds.

The silence echoed, and you almost felt at peace. The occasional shout from a player off in the distance, no doubt getting ready for the day or getting in an argument with his bunkmate, marred the quiet but didn't break the serenity.

You hummed contentedly, turning the corner to waltz down your room's hall.

The door was in sight, but as it got closer, you paused at hearing a strange sound.

A muffled moan.

Eyes wide, you strained to hear more, but couldn't move your feet.

Who was that?

Was some guy boning at the training camp? That'd be pretty awkward, you laughed to yourself before moving a few more paces to the door and freezing.

It was coming not from some random other room, but from your own.

Your shared room, to be exact.

Your shared room with Ukai, to be completely accurate.

Brain short-circuiting, you slapped a hand over your mouth as you heard a louder moan from behind the door.

Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Ukai was doing something in there, and it definitely was explicit.

Your brain jumped to jealousy before anything else, but logic swung in and told you he was most likely fapping one out before having to deal with the stressfulness of planning and putting on a training camp for eighty rowdy, obnoxious, teenage boys.

It made sense, right?

"Ngh ~" You heard from behind the door, and squeaked.

"Fuck, Y/N ~" Your eyes bugged out of your head at the sound of your name, and your face went bright red. 

There was no way.

No fucking way.

A nervous laugh escaped your mouth before you could stop it, and the noises inside the room halted.

You froze, noticing the silence within.

"...Hello?"

Ukai's voice asked questioningly into the silence, and you panicked. 

You had to do something.

"Keishin? Can I come in, or are you changing? Just finished up with breakfast!" You called loudly, pretending you heard nothing.

"...Ah yeah, come in."

Gritting your teeth, you slid the door open and stepped inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness a whole month has passed and I haven't updated!!! I really dropped the ball on this fic, school & work & volunteering have sucked up quite a bit of my time. 
> 
> Thank you guys for sticking around and being patient, I have way too many projects in the air right now and that's totally on me. I hope you enjoy this update, and thanks again for being here :) <3


End file.
